Garden Versus Store: Save your FIAT money on your vegetable bills

in #money8 years ago (edited)

How much FIAT money could you save with your own garden? Give it a look!

Imagine that one single tomato plant, if trained and physically supported (trellis, good position, good soil,...), can yield up to 20 lbs (9 kg) of fruits. Even if the maximal yield is not reached, a single tomato plant can yield 12lbs (5 kg) of fruits. Of course, it depends also on plant type and other factors.

Average price of 1 kg of tomato in New York is $5.25 , while in Prague it is $1.69.

The difference is huge, but still - how many tomatoes do you consume? How many potatoes? How many cucumbers? How much basil and other herbs? How many strawberries? And we can continue. Stay assured that it will make a high bill when you count it together.

At end of a day, a family with a balanced diet can easily spend $10 a day on vegetables even in countries where the prices are not as high as in New York.

One year consists of 365 days, we will divide it to 1/2,
because it is possible that you do not buy/eat vegetables every day. 

It makes 182 days * 10 = $1820 per year

What can you do with that money? Maybe pay your debt sooner?
Or invest it into bigger garden lot, or cryptocurrency such as BTC or STEEM?
Save it for Christmas or invest it into your project?

OK - it is a really simple math.
But it gives the point - if you want to eat healthy meals and have a balanced diet,
vegetables and fruits are of vital importance - and the cost of healthy eats is not peanuts.

While it is impossible to raise your own animals in a city, it is incredibly easy to grow your plants, have a look at @future24 and his balcony! It is important to start.

During winter season, these products are even more expensive.

What if you had a single row of 5 tomato plants to be eaten, preserved and sold?

12 lbs (trained plant minimal yield) * 5 = 60 lbs = 27 kgs of tomatoes for $147 in NYC and about $45 in Prague.

And this is just ONE fruit.

Do your math.

Do not have a space for garden? Maybe you have a balcony.
Do not have a balcony? Maybe somewhere in your city is a garden colony with free lot!
Or you could be able to find few other people interested in growing own organic food and you can rent a small space somewhere for a fair amount or even for free, if you are lucky enough. 

And it is NOT only about the money. Especially people who are all the day in front of the computer, in the office or anywhere else - a green space helps to rejuvenate your inner energy, improve your memory and make you a better human. No need to say that such a green space is perfect for work once you are tired of your chair.

Being eco-aware, imagine the footprint of a tomato you buy in the mega-store. Of course, sometimes you can buy from local farmers here, but it is not usual - at least not in our country - that you can buy these in supermarkets, sourced within 50 km from your store. It is much more usual that these are being shipped and have to travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometres - being sprayed, waxed, harvested unripen - just to survive the journey.
These tiny travelers eat more energy that they can provide.

Diversification of your life space, nutrients income, money income, ideas... garden is an eden and we are pretty sure that @gardenofeden will agree.

All you need is motivation. Yes - it will consume time and maybe some resources - but together with permaculture and smart technology such as dripping systems for constant water&nutrients income, you can maximize outputs while keeping your inputs low - and eventually make money on your vegetables instead of spending them.

Have a look at this guy on Instagram who makes his living money in a small yard behind his house using vertical #gardening . Such an inspiration.

Do you like this article? Follow us.
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Do you want to learn more? Visit us.

Let us know how much do you spend on vegetables and fruits per week and help us to make a small steemit-exclusive research! 

Thanks for reading and if you have at least something at your home, be proud of your plate.
Show us a photo with your recent harvest (please verify with Steemit on paper or phone on the photo..) and get a chance to receive some extra Steam Dollar!

Sue&Jake


Image source: Pexels.com

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After I saw your post, I went to my garden and picked these in a few minutes: ST9c7f2e.jpg
I've been eating pretty good.

What a delicious harvest @haphazard-hstead and wonderful proof of work. Thanks a million for your comment, pretty sure other readers will appreciate that as well!

The plants do most of the work, haha!

Superb picture of strawberries @greenwayoflife I just love them!

Thanks @cynetyc, the image is CC0 from Pexels! Our season just ended, so you can count on us that next season, you will find here on Steemit a gallery and article on strawberry growing ;) Thanks for your support. Do you think of having at least one plant behind your window? For example cherry tomatoes are pretty compact ;)

Great Article!
I am also glad to see it is getting a little bit of recognition!
I have not paid for food in 15 years. No alcohol, tobacco, coffee, or even a bottle of water let alone vegetables or fruit.
Not only is growing a garden very useful and sustainable but harvesting is a VERY under utilized skill/resource. I highly recommend putting out the radar for harvesting opportunities in the area!
Keep up the good work. I will follow your posts.
Best Regards~*~

Wow @quinneaker, this is really an achievement. You are absolutely right about the harvesting. Fact is that we are encircled by fields of monocultures and there are nearly no orchards, or they are private and people take care of them because they are so unique here. But we are going to make a public map of fruit trees in a mobile app + plant some new trees (old and original species). At least something :)

I love this post! Showing the economics behind growing your own food.
An older photo, but every summer we are up to our neck with peaches and plums! They make the best gifts :-)

Oh, Yum @anwenbaumeister ! We wish you a nice crop from your orchard every next year to fill up more jars and gift more ppl! :-)

Thanks for photo entries @haphazard-hstead and @anwenbaumeister ;) and to project #curie for support!

Thanks for your nice prize, too, @greenwayoflife -- I just noticed it in my wallet. : )